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bobp

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Posts posted by bobp

    60 Minutes lead story on Michael Lewis - Flash Boys

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    "Virtu Financial Inc.,....... disclosing that it had earned money every day but one in the last five years."

     

    They're frontrunning. Edit:That's of course just my opinion in case their lawyers are reading.

     

    This is probably the reason IB trading desks can make profits most days.  How else do you explain that all these banks all of sudden are profitable most days trading?  Did they all of sudden become trading wizards?

     

    Packer

     

    Exactly. Some of these investment banks don't even have 1 losing day. How can you have 365 days of no losses from trading?

    60 Minutes lead story on Michael Lewis - Flash Boys

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    In my opinion, you are being "screwed". You put your limit order in to buy 1000 shares at 10. Those 10 bids add to 100,000 shares to buy at 10, lets say. The hft bids 10.001 so that when a seller sells stock you don't get filled. Maybe you decide to pay 10.01 and you buy your stock at 10.009 from the hft firm that payed 10.001. you think your benefiting from a better price but your not. Or you stay at 10 and never buy your stock. The public would benefit from trades crossing at 10 or 10.01.

     

    Imo stocks should trade in no smaller increments than a penny. And the fragmentation of markets has led to a situation where time order means nothing, and maybe it never did to a certain extent but it means nothing now.

     

    I don't claim to understand hft - I'm not that smart. But I have no doubt that whatever profits hft firms are making is just sucked out of your pocket with no benefit to you whatsoever.

     

    Munger is right, it's high tech frontrunning.

    Investing in Farm Land

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    A new issue for the week of 4/7, Farmland Partners, will be a reit, "Farmland Partners Inc. is an internally managed real estate company that owns and seeks to acquire high-quality primary row crop farmland located in agricultural markets throughout North America. We generally lease our farmland to farm operators pursuant to triple-net leases."

     

    Underwriters - Baird, BMO Capital Markets, Janney Montgomery Scott

     

    Prospectus:

    http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1591670/000104746914002858/a2219123zs-11a.htm

     

    Road show presentation if this works: http://www.retailroadshow.com/sys/launch.asp?k=21460935407

     

    I guess similar to symbol LAND. I Don't know how to evaluate this and have no opinion on it but maybe it's interesting to some of you. I have an etrade account and it's available through etrade. I usually figure if they open it up to etrade it must not be at all hot, but I don't know.

    How cheap are you outside investing?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I buy knockoff printer ink, rather than Canon, for about a dollar a cartridge on Amazon. One time the black ink leaked on me and I had stains on my hands for days. I still buy it. I love knowing that Canon isn't ripping me off.

     

    I like doing little repairs that I know my neighbors would call a repairman for. Replacing the gear on my garage door opener, for instance, and it's working fine now. My neighbors would have just replaced the whole thing. I fixed my furnace and haven't blown up yet. Big jobs I try to ignore for as long as possible.

     

    Much of my wardrobe is from costco but I've figured out it probably makes more sense to buy better quality.

     

    The library system is the biggest bargain I know of.

     

    My parents never replaced a useable item. My father used a TWA flight bag up until a couple of years ago.

     

    On the other hand I know I waste some money stupidly. Got to go.

     

     

    How does your net worth compare to the average?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Scary.

    From the abstract: This paper examines households’ financial fragility by looking at their capacity to come up with $2,000 in 30 days. … Approximately one quarter of Americans report that they would certainly not be able to come up with such funds, and an additional 19% would do so by relying at least in part on pawning or selling possessions or taking payday loans.

     

    Read more: Almost Half of All Americans Can't Generate $2,000 in 30 Days | TIME.com http://business.time.com/2011/06/01/nearly-half-of-americans-would-struggle-to-come-up-with-2k-in-30-days/#ixzz2vqoj19xg

     

    Cotton Supply

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Chocolate covered cotton anyone? From Catch 22. Milo Minderbinder buys up the Egyptian cotton supply and the price plummets.  With no market for his cotton he produces chocolate covered cotton he tries out on Yossarian. Later he contracts with the Germans to bomb his own American bases to cover the losses.

     

    Great book.

    Book Request

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Probably not the kind of business you're looking for but this was great:

     

    When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management is a book by Roger Lowenstein published by Random House in 2000.

    UNDER HEAVEN & RIVER OF STARS

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Thanks guys for recommandations. Concernant classics, I tried Don Quixote last year, but it is hard, I have read only the first part so far!

     

    I must admit that Harry Potter was for me a really good read, especially book 3,6,4.

     

    Have to throw in my two cents here. I can't believe that anyone could ever read every word of Don Quixote. It was just torture for me. I started skimming, then gave up.

     

    Harry Potter is another story. Loved Harry. Every one of them. And the Lord of the Rings of course.

    Focusing On Owner-Operators

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Thanks. Great presentation. I love it when ideas just make sense. The Mike Price presentation was the same way.

     

    He mentions Kennedy Wilson as an example. I've always been surprised it hasn't been discussed here, given the Fairfax involvement.  I haven't felt knowledgeable enough to start the discussion, but I own the warrants.

    Victor Niederhoffer Interviews

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Great stuff, thanks. I just watched and read. Niederhoffer is interesting. Brilliant and wacky.  I read his first book a long time ago and used to look at his blog which I see is still running. All I remember is that stampeding elephants leave the village the same way they came in. What that does for me I don't know.

     

    Good luck staying away from the Hoodoos.

    Shorting Treasuries?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Thanks for the replies. It does seem to make sense to short a long fund rather than the reverse.

     

    I just saw this in Bloomberg:

    "Hedge-fund managers and other large speculators held a net-short position in 10-year note futures for the first time in almost two months amid speculation Federal Reserve officials may taper the pace of asset purchases."

     

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-17/hedge-funds-shift-to-bearish-bets-on-treasury-10-year-notes.html

    Shorting Treasuries?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I am short a 20 year treasury index via TBT which is a 2x short etf. Leaving aside the vehicle, TBT, which may be the wrong way to do it, why would it be wrong to be short treasuries?

     

    Just this weekend I heard Robert Kleinschmidt on Consuela Mack saying treasuries have a "tremendous amount of risk" without much upside. A month or so ago Wilbur Ross on cnbc said they are recommending customers borrow as much long term cash as they can at fixed rates, and said that if ten year treasury reverts to its average yield from 2000 to 2010, it will decline by 23%.

     

    I've heard numerous smart investors calling treasuries overpriced or a poor investment risk. I understand that rates could stay low as in Japan but isn't it more likely that we revert somewhat to the mean? And yes in some sort of panic we have a flight to quality. I understand that.

     

    And maybe high yield is more vulnerable than treasuries.

     

    Kleinschmidt ,btw, said that the realization that inflation will increase will come in an "emperor's new clothes" kind of moment, not gradually. I like Wealthtrack, and the shows are available on the website.

     

    I know someone must think this is terribly wrong. I'd appreciate any comments.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Have you cancelled your cable yet?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I've invested so much time in teaching my wife to use the the remotes I can't possibly change now.

     

    I have a Tivo I bought about ten years ago that complicates things slightly.

     

    I pay $208 for triple play phone cable internet. I do get free movie Tuesday thrown in which gives us two free movie tix every Tues at Clearview Cinemas.  I never use use them but my kids do occasionally and I know people who go every week. Cablevision is unfortunately looking to sell Clearview cinemas though.

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